Choosing an Affiliate Program
What should you consider when choosing an affiliate program? You need to think about two key things: what business are you in and what can the affiliate program provide to your customers. This article By Kevin Sinclair, CPA offer some sound advice.
We
have a book corner of hard copy books offering a selection of titles on
Internet Marketing from the categories we cover, check out our book list
on Affiliate Marketing. The marketing books link
to the side will also bring you to the main page of our marketing bookshop!
Browse around, enjoy and I hope you find something of value to help you
on the road to a successful Internet Business.
We
also offer a fine selection of E-books on various
aspects of Internet Marketing that you can download directly to your hardrive.
|
By Kevin Sinclair, CPA ********************************* No matter what business you are in, the largest investment you make will be customer acquisition. If you have your own product, and have acquired a base of satisfied customers, then single product affiliate programs could work very well for you. However, if your business is acquiring customers for other businesses, that is, purely affiliate programs, then a better choice for you could be affiliate programs with multiple products or services. This will help you to capitalise on your investment in customer acquisition. The key to choosing successfully is to ensure that the affiliate program offers products that meet the needs of your potential customers. Coupled with this is the need for the products to be high quality and for the supplier to provide excellent customer service. Remember, your credibility is on the line every time you refer someone to buy through your affiliate relationship. Some of the other factors I consider when evaluating affiliate programs include: Is the affiliate program a reputable business? You can check out a business you are considering a relationship with in variety of ways. Talk to the Better Business Bureau in your local area or a similar body. In addition, I find web sites that monitor affiliate programs to be worth looking at. The best I have found is Associate Programs Allan Gardyne pulls no punches and tells it as it is. Does the program enable you to share in the lifetime value of the customer? Great programs will give you commissions on all future purchases of the customers you introduce. This is where the real profits are. These types of programs, in effect, allow you to partner with the supplier. Does the program reward you for introducing other affiliates? This type of program is commonly referred to as a two-tier program. Often your customer may become an affiliate also and you will be rewarded for this. Is the supplier interested in your success as an affiliate? The top affiliate programs engage in a process of coaching or information sharing to help you succeed. Affiliates are provided with regular newsletters outlining what is working for successful affiliates and providing updates and details on new products. Is the commission reasonable? Commission rates on commodity products such as books and CDs are low. This is because there is very little margin in the products due to competition. Look for products that have a commission rate of 15% or more that are not commodities – that way you will be better able to recoup your customer acquisition investment. Are statistics provided? The higher the level of statistics provided, the better off you are. This will enable you to measure the success of your marketing efforts and to determine the best places to invest your marketing dollars. Insufficient statistics is a sign that the affiliate program is not sufficiently interested in your success. Are new products being developed regularly? To get the full value from lifetime commissions, new products need to be introduced on a regular basis. Without this, lifetime commissions can be worthless. Also, look for consistent high quality in new products introduced. How frequently are commissions paid? The more frequently commissions are paid, the better off you are. Good quality affiliate programs will pay you monthly. In some situations, commissions are not paid until a certain level is reached. If the program you are considering has this requirement, check how many sales need to be made before the level is reached. Have you read the affiliate agreement? This is a key area that you should look at. Some affiliate agreements are totally in favour of the supplier. Others are more balanced. Some agreements restrict your ability to promote similar products from other suppliers. Most agreements have anti-spam provisions. Look for agreements that are fair and that do not stack everything against you as the affiliate. While there are other factors that can be considered when choosing an affiliate program, following the suggestions above will help you to make superior business choices that will lead to long-term success. ============================================== Article by Kevin Sinclair,
CPA, of:
============================================== For anyone really interested in Affiliate Marketing, Declan Dunn has much to say on the subject and this might be your best dollar spend. If you are looking at either becoming an affiliate as a reseller for an established company, or setting up your own business for affiliates to sell your product or promote your service, Declan's book on the subject is recognised as the 'bible' of Affiliate Marketing. Get a FREE excerpt of his book HERE
If your business is one that would benefit from having affiliates but is not yet set up with the necessary software check out:
It will give you some idea of what you require in order to get your business up and running for you with affiliates as resellers. "For you, the affiliate, the allure of affiliate programs is seductive and simple: "promote for us and earn big bucks!" But can we believe all the hype? Is there really money to be made out there with all of this revenue sharing?" - this statement from Mark Joyner. The Affiliate Assistant allows you to organize all of your affiliate program efforts and analyze your affiliate program advertising campaigns. Hit the logo to check it out.
********************************* Hear What the Experts Have to Say Glen Sobel's site, AffiliateAdvisor.com, is a great reference source if you want to learn more about some of the good affiliates available. The
following two web sites offer great articles and newsletters about managing
affiliate programmes:
*********************************
*********************************
*********************************
*********************************
*********************************
Don't
forget to check out all the books on our
Please rate this section of the site here5 (max)
|
******************** Our library of FREE E-BOOKs allows you to download tons of reading material covering all areas of marketing on the Net. ******************** INTERNET EMAIL!
Are you maximising the power of email? This book gives you the run-down on how make full use of email for effective promotion. Learn more HERE
Marlon Sanders has some of the greatest advice for marketing
your products on the Internet.
MAKE YOUR SITE SELL!!
"MYSS! Delivers What
You Must Know to Win on the Web!"
Serious about becoming an affiliate or want to set up
an affiliate partnership for your business? Hear the advice Declan Dunn
has to offer first. HERE
Rick Beneteau has written the best
book available today on how ezines can be so effective in your marketing
strategy.
CHECK OUT THIS!!
********************
If you have a business and want to set it up for affiliates to be able to promote your goods or services, check out this programme HERE.
*********************
One of the Secrets to successful
Internet Marketing is using opt-in mailing lists
Use a legitimate mailing list, opt-in
lists or classified ads
|
HOME-BASED
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITYMoytura Graphic Design has expanded enormously since it's humble beginnings just a few years ago and has taken a new business venture which can be operated from home on a full or part-time basis. You can learn about this work-from-home opportunity here.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY The telecommunications industry goes from strength to strength world wide, especially with de-regulation opening up most countries to healthy and cost-cutting competition. The company, for which we are Independent Consultants, has been so successful since its European start-up in 1998 that it has now expanded from the UK to Ireland Belgium, and the Netherlands, with the USA opening in Feb 2002. It plans to expand even further in the very near future - to:
If you, or anyone you know, living in any of these countries would like to start a home-based business, the opportunities are enormous as this company is only just beginning and, as Independent Consultants, everyone will be in at the very ground level. E-MAIL for details or check out the WEBPAGE.
